Wasn't quite before Christmas. More like yesterday! I was waiting for the weather to be warm enough/sunny enough to take the hacksaw into the garden to cut the remaining track joints which I did. After about an hour of swearing and remembering why I need to buy a Dremel (or similar), the final rail joints were cut and the first proper test running has taken place. Aptly, the trains were 4 of my FR coaches and my new RC Accucraft Lawley. I've always wanted a Lawley or a similar 0-6-0 and now I've got one!

Lawley Steaming Up

First some trains smokebox first

Then it was the turn of some bunker first running making use of the passing loop. Abet as a shunt release because the train was too long.

Sat in the station ready to depart.

Surprisingly the line rises through the station and out the other end which wasn't planned. The gradient is something like 1 in 20 which is well within the limits of the current motive power although train lengths are unlikely to exceed 4 coaches (they weigh 2kg each so is not light). That said, in time, If something really powerful arrives It's not like I don't have the stock to really test it out!

Future plans are fairly simple. More rolling stock as the business grows and the RC fitting Superior and Excelsior. The Lawley came with it as standard and I can see the attraction to it especially on a line like mine (out and back).

After some running through the snow with mostly long trains of Ffestiniog Railway Coaches, nothing has really run on the line. After some minor repairs (Hedgehogs are destructive to railways I've found), time to run some trains in the sun. Both the Lawley and my Leader ran with the new Sandy River set. The set ran very well and I'm happy with its performance. The Lawley ran ok but now needs a new safety valve as the front one has failed in service (blowing from 1 PSI upwards) which meant it was down on power. Still managed some good performances. But nothing compared to Leader. I haven't run this loco since the days of the old railway before Excelsior arrived so I had forgotten how powerful it is. A tiny amount of regulator and it romped away with the train with ease. I know what's going to get RC fitted when the current pair return. Speaking of which, Excelsior and Superior are with Barley Pit Works for RC fitting and fitting of Chopper Couplings. Superior is also getting repainted at the same time.

Lawley Raising Steam

Lawley with Train. Note the recurring theme of all the pictures!

Leader being readied to run

Leader in the station. And yes, it did stop there itself. Joys of a climb though the station!

Some more images of the now semi-regular running on the line. Also some images from my visit to that lovely Matt Towell who has fitted Radio Control to my Superior and Excelsior. He's got my Leader for fitting right now. He also repainted and renamed Superior into its proper name. It looks absolutely stunning and I couldn't be happier.

The 3 Bowaters Railway Engines running together on Matt's line

The 3 Bowaters Railway Engines running together on Matt's line

Superior and my Welshpool set. First run together in a long time.

Excelsior on test passing a cooling down Superior

'The Tank' with my pair of Chattenden Coaches. Hopefully, I'll have the full set of 4 by the end of the year.

The Bowaters Set in Operation. First time in about 2 years they've run as a unit.

After running round, heading back down the other way down the garden

Superior sat in the station ready for departure

A typical SKLR passenger train abet with an engine that sadly hasn't been home since the 1960s.

Passenger train pausing in the station before continuing uphill

After running round, passenger train sits ready to return downhill.

All the captions have been written as if the full line exists. I'm planning to buy the required track for the final extension soon, however, this is on hold until the parents decide what they want to do regarding the garden shed.

Might get the rest of the line in over the summer then it's complete! Just need two shunt releases plus required track work down the garden.

I would be interested to see how you run a session using this setup, video available?

It might also be interesting to see a juggling performance involving two loco transmitters and a video camera!

My end-to-end line used shunt release at the lower terminus for a while, although I decided to add a full run round loop fairly quickly. Sometimes even running round' seems bit of a faff so I reverse the whole train back down the line and start all over again. Shhh, don't tell anyone!

Looking forward to seeing how your vintage FfR carriages come out Jon - the Lineside Hut ones just don't look quite right to me... I really like vans 4 and 5, I might have a go at one of those myself soonish...